Double Shot Espresso
by The Lovely Cynic
Summary: People watching can certainly result in interesting relationships. //KuroFai mini-series//
1. Chapter 1

**Double Shot Espresso**

There was something comforting about stepping into a steamy café out of the bitter winter cold. The smell of espresso and freshly baked pastries assaulted the senses, coaxing an air of peace out of the room's inhabitants. Tension seemed to melt out of everybody that was there, either typing on laptops or clutching cups of pleasantly warm coffee. Gentle jazz music floated in the background under the tap-tap of keyboards, occasional sprays of steam or harsh grinding of blenders.

Yes, if heaven existed, it would take the form of a coffee shop.

And easy smile made its way onto Fai's lips as he stepped through the foggy glass door. A burst of heat flooded over his chilled body and he quickly shut the door as to not let any of that glorious warmth escape. He sighed and shrugged out of his heavy jacket, placing it on the back of his chair. He tugged off the leather gloves, fingers numb and freezing. He would order his usual cup of tea after he got some blood flow back into his appendages.

He leaned back in the chair, crystalline droplets of melted snow starting to drip from the ends of his white-blond hair. He closed his eyes, simply absorbing the relaxed atmospheres like a sponge in water. He allowed the muscles in his back—overworked and tired from a long day of work—to unwind for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Your tea!" a cheerful voice above him chirped. He opened a single blue eye to be met with a pair of jovial jade. "Two cream and four sugars, yes?"

Fai chuckled to himself—a breathy, quiet sound that resonated in his chest more than his mouth. "Ah, yes. I think I come here to often if you know that by now, Sakura," he hummed, sitting up and taking pleasingly hot cup into his hands. It burned the still-cool limbs at first, but it soon turned to a pleasant tingle on the surface of his skin. "Thank you." He smiled over at the small brunette girl.

"My pleasure!" she chirped, giving the blond man a quick bow before turning on her heels and scurrying back behind the counter and filling out other orders.

Fai laughed against the rim of the cup, the rising steam condensing against his chilled, red nose. He took a careful sip of the beverage, cautious not to burn his tongue. While he drank, his eyes began to move around the café out of habit.

There was the young, blond, business-type woman, typing with one hand and sipping from a cup with the other. Her hair, as per usual, was pulled back into a tight bun. She was always perched in the far corner, right next to the coffee machine. There was the Paper Man, who sat right against wall and read the paper, but never ordered anything. His hair was long and fell in thick, black waves over his face. Then there were High School Sweethearts. Two high school aged teenagers that always sat together and simply _cuddled _for maybe an hour or so. They fed each other scones and croissants, sipping away at bottles of water. Fai found it rather cute.

Those were just the regulars.

One of Fai's favourite activities while sitting in the café was people watching. It was always interesting to see those normally faceless strangers in a whole different light. Whether they were relaxed tourists in tacky shirts or hurried regulars in pressed suits, they had their own stories. Though they never had time to share them, it was fun to guess. And from the time Fai started sipping on his cup of tea to the time he had to go home, he would enjoy making up backgrounds for these random strangers.

"Double shot espresso, please."

Fai first heard the rough, gravelly and yet oddly quiet voice between sips of tea and rapt contemplation of the last person who ordered a double vanilla latté. The blond quickly decided that the Latté Woman had two children judging by her age and weight she carried around her hips.

But this man was different. He was young, possibly younger than Fai. He had short, black hair and was obviously some sort of Asian. He was tall, muscular with an angular face and sharp cheekbones and his _eyes_... They were the most peculiar shade of brown that he had ever seen. If such a thing were possible, the blond could have sworn that they were a very deep shade of red.

In a word, he was... _handsome_.

It was strangely difficult to place a background on this man, though. He was clearly rough around the edges and worked out, but... what could have made him that way, for once, escaped Fai. Football player, perhaps? No... his voice and all-around way he carried himself didn't say football player. Track star? No. His torso was far too well-defined for that. Body builder was a distant possibility, but he seemed too... disciplined.

"What are you staring at?" the black-haired man growled, swirling his espresso in his small cup.

Fai jolted slightly, snapped out of his thoughtful reverie by the rough voice. His eyes widened significantly when he realized that he had been caught. "Uh..."

Oh, what a wonderfully intelligent response. The blond silently berated himself, racking his mind for some sort of intelligible reply for the other man. Though, as he stared into those amazingly crimson eyes, his mind went as blank as a classroom whiteboard.

The man raised a single, charcoal eyebrow before scoffing and turning to leave. Fai felt a blast of cold air as the door was opened. He glanced behind him and saw the black-haired man turn to walk down the street, still taking careful sips of his double shot espresso.

Fai let out a breath he hadn't realized he's been holding. His heart pounded in his chest, whether from the exhilaration of being caught or something... _else_, he wasn't sure. But it was an altogether pleasant sensation. The palpitations in his heartbeat sent shivers and shocks up his spine and seemed to suck the oxygen right out of his blood cells. Breathless...

He didn't know exactly why, but he was certainly hoping to see that mysterious, crimson-eyed stranger again.

--

**Author's Notes: **Mini-series time! Yes. This is part one of a three or four part mini-series. Yes, it is a rather short chapter and for that, I'm sorry. It just sort of ended up that way! The next chapter should be out within a few days, depending on how busy I am.

Erm, by the way, in case you couldn't tell, this is a modern AU of Tsubasa. XD'


	2. Chapter 2

**Double Shot Espresso  
Part 2**

**Author's Notes: **Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks.... That is all.

---

Fai shivered as the dry winter air hit him. Stepping out of the heated office building into the cold New York winter, he could almost feel Christmas buzzing in the air. It was an electric sort of excitement that pulsed from passerby's smiles. Even the stoic, suit-wearing businessman had a childlike joy reflecting in his eyes. The occasional brightly—almost _gaudily—_decorated pine tree cast a warm glow on the white blanketed streets. It all screamed commercial New York Christmas on Christmas Eve.

Fai could almost imagine Times Square right now, lit up exactly like daytime and crawling with people. Toys R' Us would be the busiest place there, more than likely. It would be swarmed with divorced parents shopping for last minute gifts to try and win their child's favour.

The blond suddenly had an urge to go to Central Park and go skating. Mingle with the tourists and visiting families. Absorb the feeling of familial love, affection and generosity that only a season like Christmas could bring out... 'tis the season, after all. He laughed off the thought almost immediately and shook his head. Perhaps he was growing bitter towards the holidays.

Celebrating it alone year after year tended to do that to a person.

An almost inaudible sigh escaped him, moist vapours curling and disappearing into the cool evening air. The snow crunched beneath Fai's feet as he made his way to the subway station where he would catch his train form the Financial District to Greenwich Village. Perhaps he would grab a cup of tea or coffee, if the café were open, before heading home....

The memory from the other day rushed over Fai's mind like a tidal wave riddled with man-eating sharks. His heart began pounding in his ears and a flush of recalled embarrassment caused his cheeks to burn even in the freezing temperature.

Normally, Fai was a very polite and articulate person. He never _pointedly _stared and always had a few readily prepared phrases in case he was ever caught. There was just something about that mysterious black-haired man that made his mind and tongue freeze like the snow on the ground. It was strange and it was frighteningly different from the way he normally felt. He didn't exactly _like _the feeling, but the way it made his heart race was worryingly... pleasant.

He forced himself to shake off the feeling and hurry down the stairs to the subway station. The sights and smells of the station were comfortingly familiar. Hoards of people just let off work, the homeless tucked away in the corners, accompanying the smells of urine and sweat. Most people would find the whole routine unsettling, but to a permanent New York resident, it was a perfectly normal, everyday sight.

With a quick swipe of his pass and a push through a crowd of damp people, he was on his train and heading home.

And sandwiched between four or five people.

Though Fai was used to being pressed against various people in the trains, he never liked the feeling of being so physically close to them. It made him feel self-conscious and awkward, like the people surrounding him were actually watching him. Even if most of the time this wasn't the case, it was still unnerving to even think about. As the train took a lurch forward, he was pressed even closer to those surrounding him. Rush hour in the subway was the worst for the slight blond.

He slipped his hand into one of the plastic holds attached to the ceiling, hoping to gain some semblance of balance through it. The car screeched to a halt, an automatic voice announcing the station. Fai let out a tiny breath. Only a couple more stops to the Village, then he could go and relax in that cozy little café, possibly talk to Sakura or simply sit back and observe the life that bustled around him. Then he would head home, give his Uncle Ashura a call and wish him a Merry Christmas before drifting off to lonely sleep, only to wake to carollers and bells and cheer....

If he were lucky, he would sleep through the entire holiday.

Fai frowned to himself, eyes fixated on the ground as he made room for more people that crowded into the subway cars. The train reeled forwards again. The blond, who was still brooding over the Christmas season, was jerked out of his melancholic reverie and nearly lost his footing in the process. He tripped over some old man's shoes and—if it weren't for his nearly _iron _grip on the plastic hold—nearly fell face-first onto a strangely familiar black-haired man.

Oh, dear, sweet Lord.

Fai felt his entire being congeal for a split second. Time seemed to stop to allow him to absorb the scene at hand: he was in the subway, pressed up against the tense, well-defined chest of that peculiar stranger from the day before. The blond felt the muscles in the man's chest twitch and ripple under the taut fabric of his t-shirt. He couldn't hear, but _oh_, he could feel the growl resonate in the ribcage. The scent switched over from sweat, body odour and urine to cheap deodorant and... Old Spice? Strange, but oddly fitting for such a man.

And then reality seemed to set back in _far _too quickly.

"Ah! I'm very sorry!" Fai answered quickly, hoisting himself back into a standing position. A slight blush crept across his face before he could will it away and he was forced to turn away from the unusual Asian male to his side to avoid further embarrassment. The man didn't seem to hear or he simply didn't care, for all he did was scoff and immediately turn to face the other way.

How rude.

Fai pressed his lips together and scrunched his brow. This man certainly wasn't talkative in the least. He possessed the prowess of a panther in the way he carried himself; full of life, stealth and mystery. Disciplined, but not uptight, per se; possessing the looks that would lure in any unsuspecting prey before he pounced and devoured them.... Yes. This man was danger and beauty in one tightly wrapped—_in sweet smelling skin and quivering muscle—_package.

Wait a moment.... Disciplined. Stealthy. Mysterious. Dangerous....

"Martial artist!" The metaphorical light bulb clicked on in Fai's head. _That's _what was different about this man! Several people were staring at the blond, but only a select few. Most New York City inhabitants had learned to tune out insane ramblings by then.

"Uh... what?" was the only response Fai got from the crimson-eyed male. The blond blinked, feeling far too proud of himself to realized that he had _just said that out loud_. He had just figured out the man's background, the one who had been plaguing him since yesterday! "Oh... I remember you." The black-haired man's mouth twitched at the corners in a sort of smirk.

"Huh?" Fai responded oh-so-smartly.

"You're that weird guy from yesterday at the café. The one who was staring at me while I got my espresso." He raised his dark eyebrows, amusement glinting in those oddly coloured eyes.

Busted. Oh, yes, Fai was caught red-handed. "I... I was _not _staring—"

The man let out a deep, rich bark of laughter. "Right. Whatever you say," he hummed, turning his face away from the blond. The fact that he looked so smug tugged some sort of nerve in Fai. Maybe it was the fact he had been caught and his normal articulation seemed to escape him around this man.

"You're a martial artist, though, aren't you?" Fai stared ahead of himself, a small smile on his face. "Judging by the muscle definition on your upper body, I would say... Jiu-jitsu or perhaps Judo..." he murmured, eyes trailing along the other man's body. Yes. Definitely martial arts. It was something about the way he stood and carried himself that simply didn't fit any other sport; proud and regimented.

"Wrong."

"What?" Fai's eyes widened, his smile falling immediately. He was _wrong?_

There was a silence between the two; stifling and strangely tense. A static sort of electricity buzzed around them, the air seeming even more stifling than normal in the train car. It was like a wet, cold blanket had been placed over their heads and held there tightly over their mouths and noses.

"Kendo. Not Judo."

Fai could have laughed. So, this man had a sense of humour after all. He could see the corner of his mouth turn up into a half-grin, revealing sharply white teeth, stained around the bottom. _Probably from all the espresso._

"I'm Fai."

"Call me Kurogane."

Kurogane. Black Steel. How very fitting. "I wouldn't suppose you're going to that café, are you?" Fai asked, a tiny smile on his face.

Kurogane stared at Fai quizzically. "And if I am?"

"So suspicious, Kuro-puu!" the blond laughed. 'Kurogane' was far too harsh. He needed something to lighten the menacing sound of it. "Would you care to sit down and have a drink with me?"

"I never said you could call me any nicknames!" Those mahogany eyes narrowed dangerously, lips tugged up in a vicious snarl. Panther, definitely a panther. There was a long pause after that and Fai could almost swear that Kurogane was doing it on purpose. "Hm. I suppose I could have a drink with you. It's not like I have anything _better _to do."

Fai chuckled under his breath and shook his head. A few strands of white-blond hair fell into his face, brushing over his cheeks and nose. The train squealed to a jerking halt, a pleasant female voice announcing his normal stop over the intercom. "Well, let's go, then, Kuro-sama!" he chirped, squeezing out of the doors and dashing away to the stairs.

Kurogane's shout of "What did I just tell you, idiot?!" echoed after him.

---

**Author's Notes: **Chapter two is DONE! Only one or two more chapters to go. Er... by the way, would any of you dear reviewers want, um... the rating to go _up_, if you catch my drift...? Because that would be chapter four if anybody wants it. Or do you want it to end at the next chapter? XD' TELL ME, PLEASE!


	3. Chapter 3

**Double Shot Espresso  
Part 3**

**Author's Notes: **Yes, I know that only matinees are usually done on Christmas Eve on Broadway, but... please suspend your disbelief for the sake of the fic! Thank you!

---

"Okay, quick! Tell me your favourite book, movie and food!" Fai ginned deviously over the lip of his ceramic tea cup. The rising plumes of steam seemed to shroud his eyes in a hazy shadow as he stared intently and unabashedly into Kurogane's. The blond couldn't help but think how funny it was to see the other man so flustered.

The crimson-eyed male blinked in surprise, nearly dropping his small cup full of espresso. It took him a moment to register what Fai had just said. "You're making this sound like a date, idiot!" he snorted, staring intently at the table like it was the most interesting thing he had seen in his life. "This is _not _a date," he huffed.

Fai stuck his lower lip out in a mock pout. He placed his cup down and leaned back in his chair, trying to look as crushed as he could manage without bursting into fits of laughter. "Oh, Kuro-pii, don't you like me?" he whimpered, opening his eyes a little wider and hoping they looked watery.

Oh, and Kurogane's reaction was simply _priceless_.

"Wha—I... I mean... what did I tell you about those stupid nicknames?!" he snapped, face and ears flushing bright red and _not _because of the cold. Fai had to hold his breath to keep his giggles to himself, stuck in his throat like molasses. "But to answer your question, smartass, I am rather partial to Tom Clancy's books and soba noodles. I don't watch many movies."

"You don't watch movies?" The azure-eyed male's jaw nearly dropped. "I love going to the theatre," he sighed, sounding dreamily distant. He had stored away good memories of the theatre—both stage and film—in the back of his mind. Flashes of his Uncle Ashura holding his tiny hand as he led him into the theatre where Phantom of the Opera was playing on Broadway played before his eyes like grainy motion pictures.

He remembered gasping as the Phantom let Christine go at the end, tears filling his young eyes at the sorrow of the actor's voice. The mask at the end, fading away in a single pinprick of light and the thunderous applause.... Fai could never remember crying so hard because of a play.

"Hey! Are you with me here?" Kurogane's voice suddenly cut into the blond's reverie. He jumped slightly, blinking away the trance-like haze that swirled around in his mind. "You spaced out for a second. Do you do that often?" The black-haired martial artist raised his sooty eyebrows, those russet coloured eyes seeming all the more prominent as he did.

Fai allowed a small smile to tug the corners of his mouth upwards. "I suppose I do," he chuckled, brushing a few pieces of sandy hair out of his face. "I have a lot to think about, you know, Kuro-wan!"

Kurogane grunted incoherently, finishing off the espresso in his cup. "I'm not a dog, damn it, so don't call me that!" he growled, hairs on the back of his neck pricking up. "And what could possibly be going through that empty head of yours, hm?"

The blond grinned and shook his head. "You barely know me, Kuro-chan. How could you possibly know what goes through my mind?" He stared into Kurogane's eyes, a heated intelligence burning in those crystalline blue orbs. All the martial artist could do was clamp his mouth shut and _stare_.

A fiery, smouldering silence fell over the pair like sudden summer heat. It lasted a few long moments, the only sounds filling the air were that of the busy café; blasts of steam, the clank and clatter of glasses, idle chatter....

"I should go." Kurogane abruptly blurted out, pushing his chair back in favour of standing up. "As pleasant as this has been, I need to catch the subway home. I'm pretty sure I'll see you soon with the way things seem to be going currently." The smirk that he shot Fai could have melted the hearts of women everywhere. It was cold, but with an underlying warmth that you had to look closely to see. It blazed in those rusty eyes, just beneath the surface of frostiness and apathy. Like winter slowly subsiding the warmth of spring....

Fortunately, Fai was not a woman.

"You don't have to go quite yet," the blond said simply, standing up as well. His teacup was drained and he was finished, anyways. "I'm enjoying your company," he murmured, rubbing one of his shoulders _almost _bashfully. "Unless you have somewhere you need to go for Christmas? If that's the case, I won't keep you. I, personally, don't have anywhere to go, so I'm not quite used to the idea."

Kurogane shrugged, making a small, unintelligible sound in his throat. "Well, you and I have that in common, then. No, I don't have anywhere I need to be. I just thought I could get home and make an early dinner before going to sleep and—"

"Hopefully sleeping through tomorrow?"

That same fiery silence drifted over them again. "Yeah..." the black-haired man said slowly. "How did you know that?"

Fai smiled emptily, eyes turning up to the ceiling. "I think the same way." Kurogane did not reply to this. Instead, they left each other to their own moments of quiet contemplation. The sapphire-eyed man was finding it more and more odd how much in common he actually had with the brooding, grouchy martial artist. Perhaps.... "Say, Kuro-tan?"

Kurogane bit back a snarl and opted to simply glare at the blond in front of him. "What?"

"Would you care to go to see a play with me? I think you may like it...."

The wine-eyed man stared at Fai for a short while. They certainly did seem to be doing a lot of staring.... "Hm. As long as you're paying, fine. It's not like I have anything better to do."

---

Fai D. Flourite was the nephew of one of the most influential men in New York City, Ashura King. Because of this fact, the blond was subject to many more perks in average, everyday life than most regular people.

One of these perks was having a privately owned box in New York's Majestic theatre.

After having that memory of his first time at the Phantom of the Opera rush back to him, Fai couldn't get it out of his head. It was stuck there—the craving to see the play be performed. He needed to see the dancing, hear the clear ring of each voice echo through the theatre and once again absorb the beautiful story that unfolded every time in the Majestic theatre.

It was like an addiction.

Fai couldn't help but hope that Kurogane enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera as much as he did. The wondrous sets, costumes, voices and tale all blending together in a concoction of beauty that had the blond captivated each time. Yes, he hoped that the martial artist could see that beauty, too.

Through the hour and a half of the first Act—oh, the Chandelier, Christine's voice and the Phantom's ever-lamenting ballads—Fai couldn't help but itch to hold Kurogane's hand. He supposed that it was out of habit. Every other time that he went to see this particular play, he had been with his Uncle Ashura, gripping his hand in anticipation through the entirety of the musical.

But, no. That would so extremely awkward and he didn't want to break whatever fragile friendship he had already forged with the black-haired male. So he sat back and tried to focus on that lucid, pitch-perfect voice of Christine's. Beautiful....

It got more difficult to refrain through the second Act, though. To see Raoul and Christine's relationship grow and bloom, to see the Phantom _capture _her and keep her, to see Raoul's pure love for her....

It tugged at Fai's heart each and every time.

He felt tears prick at the backs of his eyes. They neared the end of the play now.... The Phantom had just let Christine go and she and Raoul were singing their love to each other in the background. The Phantom's sorrowful cries for his love reverberated through the theatre. Fai couldn't help it. He reached over and squeezed Kurogane's hand as if for dear life. A couple of stray tears escaped the ducts as the final line rang out _perfectly_:

"_It's over now; the music of the night...."_

And as the Phantom disappeared, leaving only his mask for Meg to find, Fai squeezed his eyes shut, more tears leaking out. That tiny pinprick of light faded on the mask and it ended....

---

Fai and Kurogane didn't mention the hand holding in the theatre as they rode the subway back to Greenwich Village. They stayed mostly silent the entire way, few words being exchanged between them about the play at all. The blond still felt that pang of sadness in his chest that he felt on every occasion that he saw the Phantom. Such exquisiteness embodied on stage....

A voice rang out, announcing it was one stop before Fai's. He looked over at Kurogane and let out a cheerless sigh. "Will we be parting ways, then?" he murmured.

"I suppose so," the martial artist blandly responded.

That was not the answer Fai wanted to hear. He didn't want to separate from Kurogane with no promise of them ever meeting again. The train started again and the blond felt a wave of distress wash over him. The night couldn't end _now_. It felt like it had just begun!

"Would you..." he faltered; paused. He felt odd about what he was about to say. He had just met this mysterious black-haired man _that day_, after all. But... there was something there. Some unexplainable connection that was strung tight between them already. "Would you like to come back to my place with me? We could have Christmas dinner together since we have nobody else to have it with...."

Kurogane looked surprised. His eyebrows were high above his eyes, causing his forehead to crinkle. His lips were pulled into a straight line instead of his usual scowl or smirk. "Will there be soba?"

Fai couldn't help but laugh. Some Christmas feast that would be. "Only if you're making it."

Silence. The train halted, announcing Fai's stop to get to his apartment in the Village.... "Sure," the crimson-eyed man grunted, shrugging his shoulders. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

---

**A/N: **And that, my dears, is chapter 3! Next chapter will be the last for this little mini-series. I have also decided that it will be rated M. Oh, dear.... I don't normally write lemons, too, so this will be a whole new thing for me, almost.

Anyways, yes. Part four should be out... soon-ish. I have a Convention to go to this weekend, so I may put it off until after that. Oh! And would anyone want to read little spin-off stories based on this fic after it's done? Like... continue the story in the form of one-shots and such?

PS: Does anyone want to beta for me?!


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